The present invention relates to a voice telephony system for integrating voice telephony functionality with television programming on a television when a user participates in a telephone call.
Traditionally, a person or telephone system user has a telephone at his or her home that is mounted on a wall or that sits on a table. The telephone is connected by a telephone wire to a standard telephone wall jack. Wiring within the home walls connects the various telephones to one or more telephone lines that connect to telephone company telephone lines at a network interface just outside of the home. The telephone company wires connect the home network interface to the public switched telephone network. In general, an incoming call causes the telephone or telephones within the home to ring, until the call is answered by the user or by an answering machine.
Because the telephone service industry is becoming more and more competitive, some attempts have been made to add functionality to the traditional telephone. For example, caller identification devices are now available that allow the telephone user to identify an incoming caller without answering the telephone. Some of these units identify the caller by telephone number, while others further identify the caller with a name from a telephone directory listing. Still, a ringing telephone is an inconvenience for some users. For example, a ringing telephone, indicating an incoming call, interrupts the user from whatever activities he or she is engaged in, forcing the user to walk over to the telephone and either answer it, screen the call by listening to an answering machine as the machine records, or check a caller identification unit if one is connected to the phone to determine who is calling. So, even though there are existing techniques that allow a user to identify the identity of an incoming caller, existing techniques are still rather obtrusive because the user is forced to disengage any current activities to walk over to the ringing telephone.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a voice telephony system that enhances telephone functionality in a way to make incoming calls less obtrusive to the person receiving the incoming call at his or her home.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a voice telephony system for integrating voice functionality with television programming on a television when a user participates in a telephone call, that utilizes a visual interface indicating a status of the telephony device to the user.
In carrying out the above object, a voice telephony system for integrating voice telephony functionality with television programming on a television when a user participates in a telephone call is provided. The system comprises a voice telephony device and a video processing device. The voice telephony device is operable in a speakerphone mode. The video processing device has an input connected to a video source and a video output connected to the television to display television programming from the video source. The video processing device is in communication with the telephony device and is configured to display a visual interface for the telephony device. The visual interface is displayed when the telephony device operates in the speakerphone mode. The visual interface indicates a status of the telephony device to the user.
In a preferred implementation, the visual interface includes an icon that is displayed along with the television programming, possibly in a corner of the viewing area. In a suitable implementation, the telephony device has an on-hook status and an off-hook status. The icon has a dim state and a lit state. The icon is in the dim state when the telephony device status is on-hook and the icon is in the lit state when the telephony device status is off-hook. Further, in a suitable implementation, the visual interface has a minimized view and an expanded view. The icon represents the visual interface in the minimized view. Preferably, the icon is a minimized phone, and the visual interface includes an expanded phone widget that represents the visual interface in the expanded view. Preferably, the expanded phone widget includes a keypad interface to simulate a physical telephone keypad.
In one suitable implementation, the video processing device is operable to display a television programming screen in which television programming from the video source is displayed and is operable to display a main screen in which the telephony device visual interface is displayed. The main screen may be, for example, an initial screen that is displayed when the video processing device is turned on. The visual interface is displayed on a television programming screen during the presence of a telephone call, but is preferably always displayed on the main screen. Optionally, the visual interface could be always displayed on the television programming screen, if desired by the user.
In preferred embodiments, the visual interface includes a call notification message that is displayed along with the television programming in the presence of an incoming telephone call. Preferably, the call notification message includes a caller identification. Preferably, the call notification message includes an answer button. The answer button may be selected by the user with a remote control. When the user selects the answer button, the telephony device operates in the speakerphone mode and displays an icon in a corner of the viewing area of the television programming to indicate that the speakerphone is in use. Further, the call notification message may include an ignore button that may be selected to dismiss the call notification message.
Further, in carrying out the present invention, a voice telephony system for integrating voice telephony functionality with television programming on a television when a user participates in a telephone call is provided. The system comprises a voice telephony device, and a video processing device. The voice telephony device is operable in a speakerphone mode. The video processing device has an input connected to a video source and a video output connected to a television to display television programming from the video source. The video processing device is in communication with the telephony device and is configured to display a visual interface for the telephony device to indicate a status of the telephony device to the user. A visual interface has a minimized view represented by an icon that indicates the telephony device status and an expanded view represented by an expanded phone widget that allows the user to control the telephony device with a remote control unit.
Preferably, the expanded phone widget includes a keypad interface. Further, in a preferred embodiment, the videoprocessing device is operable to display a television programming screen in which television programming from the video source is displayed, and is operable to display a main screen in which the telephony device visual interface is displayed. That is, at the main screen, the visual interface, by default, is always displayed. In the television programming screen, the visual interface is displayed during the presence of a telephone call.
Preferably, the visual interface includes a call notification message that is displayed along with the television programming in the presence of an incoming telephone call. Further, the call notification message includes a caller identification. More preferably, the call notification message includes an answer button that may be selected with the remote control. In response to the user selecting the answer button, an icon is displayed along with the television programming and the telephony device is operated in the speakerphone mode. The icon reminds the user that speakerphone is activated. An ignore button may be selected by the user to dismiss the call notification message.
The advantages associated with embodiments of the present invention are numerous. For example, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a pop-up user interface for integrating speakerphone functionality with television programming. A phone icon is displayed on the television screen to indicate speakerphone status. A user may select the icon in order to reveal an expanded user interface with additional speakerphone functionality. The expanded interface includes, for example, a numeric keypad, dial and hang up buttons, flash, mute, and hold buttons, etc. Advantageously, speakerphone functionality is integrated with television viewing in an unobtrusive manner. The home telephone user may be notified of an incoming call by the appearance of the call notification message in a small portion of the television viewing area. Advantageously, the telephone ringer may be turned off so that the only intrusion is the appearance of the call notification message. Further, the home user may, in preferred embodiments, select to answer or ignore the call with a remote control. The remote control could be the normal remote control associated with the videoprocessing device. Even further, because speakerphone functionality is integrated with the television interface, the home user may activate the speakerphone with the pressing of a single button.
The above object and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.